Joanna Castle
by DFM
Summary: A series of Future Fics.
1. Sleep Deprivation

**Title:** Sleep Deprivation

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Bet

**Spoilers:** None

**Rating:** PG

**Pairing(s):** Castle/Beckett

**Summary:** "I have never been this tired."

**Author's Note:** Thanks to digitaldesigner, who helped drag this one out of my head.

Written for castle100

* * *

"I have never been this tired," Kate Beckett-Castle said as she collapsed onto the bed next to her husband.

His response was muffled by the pillow over his face.

"Did Alexis cry this much when she was teething?"

He lifted the pillow. "I can't remember that far back."

She buried her head in the crook of his neck. "We can't survive like this much longer."

"Ryan and Esposito bet me that we couldn't make it through this case without taking our exhaustion out on a suspect."

"What if we win?"

"They'll babysit for a whole night."

"They're going down."


	2. Destructive Babysitting

**Title:** Destructive Babysitting

**Pairings:** Castle/Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Winning a bet is not all it's cracked up to be.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoiler alert:** None.

**A/N: **This is a sequel to _Sleep Deprivation_, please read that first :D

* * *

Kate Beckett-Castle looked around the destruction area that was their living room. She glanced over at Rick and saw the same stunned expression on his face that she was sure was on hers. The first thought that popped into her head was: where's my baby? The second thought was: Ryan and Esposito are dead!

How had they managed this?

Every toy Joanna owned was strewn about, and it looked like all of their blankets had been piled to make a resting area in the middle of the floor. And for some reason there was a sword between the cushions and the back of the couch.

Slowly, they began to navigate through the rubble but stopped short when the blankets began to move.

Ryan's head appeared from under the blankets he'd just pushed off of him, and looked like a sleepy toddler as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"Ryan," Kate whispered harshly, finally finding her voice. She stepped towards him and was only saved from tripping over a stuffed animal and falling on her ass in a most unthreatening manner by Rick's arm that sprung out to catch her. "Where's Jo? What happened here?"

"Relax, she's right..." he paused, looking at the empty space next to him in confusion. Rick's posture went rigid and she felt her heart-rate jack up. "That's weird."

"You don't know where she is?" Rick growled. One of them was going to end up slugging the detective. If he was lucky it wouldn't be her.

Ryan finally seemed to pick up on their irritation. "I'm sure Esposito is with her," he defended his lack of knowledge of their offspring.

"You better hope so," she left the unspoken threat hanging in the air as they went to search the rest of the house, Ryan scrambling after them.

Neither Joanna or Esposito were in any room of the apartment, and both parents had gone from worried to mild panic. Multiple phone-calls later they were no closer to finding any answers and Ryan was trying to blend in with the wall.

"Did you try St. Marcus Hospital?"

"Yes. Did you call the precinct? Maybe he had to go into work."

"Yes, he's not there." Kate sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Okay, not that you'd really be able to tell from the mess out there," she threw a perfunctory glare at Ryan, "but we've got to assume that Esposito walked out of here on his own with Jo. Where would he go?"

"To get doughnuts?"

"You're really going to go for the cliché now? Really?"

"Our daughter is missing! You want me to be creative?"

She opened her mouth to respond when they heard the front door open.

"Dude, where are you?" Esposito's voice called from downstairs. "I just dodged a few calls from the Rooks, I think they're on their way back. We better straighten up a little bit or they'll," he glanced when he hear the thundering of footsteps coming down the stairs, "kill us."

Before he could say anything Kate had reached him and was carefully lifting Joanna out of the Snugli that it had taken him way too long to figure out how to put on.

"There's my baby girl!" She didn't even attempt to cover her relief as she brushed a kiss to her forehead. Rick stood next to them, alternating between stroking Jo's back and asking Esposito questions in a barely restrained voice.

"Where have you been?"

Esposito held up a pink box like it was exhibit a. "I just went to get breakfast."

Kate let her eyes slip shut against what she already knew was coming.

"Are those doughnuts?" Rick asked, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

"Yeah," Esposito said, unsure. "Do you want one?"

"Ha!" he exclaimed, pointing at her.

"Shut up."

She was never letting Ryan or Esposito near Joanna again.


	3. Hiding

**Title:** Hiding

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Busted

**Spoilers:** None.

**Rating:** PG

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Summary:** "I thought I might find you here."

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100.

* * *

"I thought I might find you here."

Rick looked up from his hiding place to see Kate walking towards him, two cups of coffee in her hands. He took the one she offered him without a word.

"How's she doing?" Kate asked, sipping her own coffee.

"Well, I haven't heard her crying or yelling."

"How are you doing?"

"How did this happen?"

"Jo was bound to turn four eventually."

"Yeah, but..."

There was a clank above their heads, causing both of them to look up. "Hi, Mommy! Hi, Daddy!" Joanna waved cheerfully through the window slats.

"Busted," he whispered guiltily.


	4. Tiny Dancer

**Title:** Tiny Dancer

**Pairings:** Castle/Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** "I'm a ballerina, Mommy."

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoiler alert:** None.

**A/N:**I will not cover any dental bills that result from the absurdly sweet content of this fic, read at your own risk. Part of the Joanna Castle series.

* * *

"Sweetie, don't you want to wear your sneakers to school?" Kate Beckett-Castle asked her daughter, who was trying to mime a perfect fourth position in her brand new ballet shoes, but instead looked like she was playing hokey pokey.

Joanna looked genuinely confused. "No, Mommy."

"Your feet are going to hurt," Kate tried again. She had this horrible image in her head of Jo stepping down on a piece of glass in the thin-soled shoes.

"I'm a ballerina, Mommy. Ballerinas wear ballet shoes."

"And tutus," Rick threw in as he walked into his daughter's room to check on the morning's progress.

Kate tried to throw him a 'you're as bad as she is' look, but the way Jo's face lit up at the word and Rick's own smile softened her slightly.

"Can I wear my tutu, Mommy?" Jo was barely restraining herself from jumping up and down with excitement.

"Yeah, please, Mommy?" Rick of course lent his support to his daughter.

How was she supposed to win against both of them?

"You can wear your tutu if you also wear your sneakers."

Jo looked at her dad for confirmation that this was the deal she wanted to take. Rick nodded and Jo threw her arms around Kate. "Thanks, Mommy!"

Okay, so maybe she didn't really lose...


	5. Security Ring

**digitaldesigner asked for a Castle/Beckett fic with 'ring' as her prompt. I hope you guys like it!**

**

* * *

  
**

Rick quietly walked into the living room, not wanting to wake the occupants of the couch. Kate had agreed to read to Jo in the hopes of putting their little girl to sleep and was just as successful in lulling herself. For a moment he just stood there and looked at them.

Kate's head was resting on the back of the couch, mouth gaping ever so slightly, the book having slipped from her fingers at some point. Jo was curled up in her mother's lap, her right thumb in her mouth and the tiny fist of her left hand clutching something. From across the room he had just assumed it was part of Kate's shirt, but as he got closer he noticed that it wasn't... Jo was clutching her grandmother's ring.

Rick thought of all the times he'd watched Kate idly fiddle with the necklace, gotten strength from it, and it seemed right somehow that now their daughter was holding it the way most kids do a blanket. And it made him sad... because really both of his girls should have been able to hold onto Johanna, not a ring.


	6. Tangled Up

**Title:** Tangled Up

**Pairings:** Castle/Beckett

**Characters:** Martha & Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** "We really need to talk about your idea of a Mother's Day gift."

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoiler alert:** None.

**A/N: **Written digitaldesigner. Part of the Joanna Castle series. Pre-Sleep Deprivation.

* * *

'This was some kind of cosmic joke,' Kate Castle thought to herself as she nibbled on a saltine cracker, trying to stop her stomach from leading a revolt against her. She'd been having morning sickness for weeks now, but it had not been anywhere near this bad until today. She could barely keep water down. Rick was just lucky that he was out of the state for the book tour of _Simmering Heat_, because right now she was ready to castrate him for doing this to her.

"Baby," she murmured to her stomach, "we really need to talk about your idea of a Mother's Day gift."

"Ah, I used to talk to my stomach all the time when I was pregnant with Richard," Martha said, by way of greeting, startling her daughter-in-law with her presence. "Darling, you look dreadful."

"Hi, Martha," Kate said weakly.

"I came to see if you and Alexis were available for lunch, but -- " Her eyes widened as she watched Kate turn an alarmingly pale color before rushing out of the room. Martha hesitated for only a moment before following, reaching the bathroom just in time to hear Kate lose the contents of her stomach. Pushing open the door, she took in the sight of Kate curled in on herself, looking closer to crying than Martha had ever seen her. Wordlessly, she filled a cup that was sitting on the sink and handed it to her. "Rinse."

Not even bothering to comment, Kate took the water and did as she was told. After taking a few cleansing breaths, Martha was pleased to see her color returning to normal.

Resting her head against the nearby wall, Kate didn't bother moving. "Alexis isn't here. Meredith showed up yesterday, so they went to hit some stores. I promised Alexis if she wasn't back by 6 I'd call in a hostage negotiator."

"Ah, well." Martha tried not to allow any of her feelings towards Meredith to come across in those two words, but, judging by the knowing smile on Kate's face, she hadn't succeeded. "I suppose you'll just have to keep me company until she gets back then."

It was no secret to anyone that of the women her son had married, Kate was by far her favorite. However, they very rarely had any time where it was just the two of them.

"Martha, you don't have to -- "

"Nonsense." Sitting down on the floor, she began rifling through the purse she hadn't yet put down, quickly coming up with what she'd been looking for. Gesturing for Kate to turn so that her back was to her, Martha made quick work of untying Kate's hair and began running a comb through it.

They sat in silence, Martha gathering stray pieces of hair that hand escaped the original ponytail, before starting on a french braid.

"My mom used to do this when I was sick," Kate broke the silence. Martha was pleased to note that her voice was more reminiscent than sad.

"Mine too. It's one of the few things I missed by having a son; boys very rarely let you play with their hair." Martha smiled as she listened to Kate try and smother a laugh, no doubt picturing Rick with his hair in a braid. "I tried to teach Richard how when Alexis was little, but her ended up creating the biggest knot I've ever seen on the poor child's head. For awhile, I thought we were going to have to shave her head. Baskin Robbins made a lot of money that day from the amount of ice cream it took to calm her down."

"Somehow, I imagine that he was almost as traumatized as Alexis was."

Martha shook her head, smiling at the memory. "It took a month before he was willing to do more than comb her hair again, and he never attempted anything more difficult than pigtails after that." Tying the end off the finished braid, she said almost proudly, "There you go, darling."

Turning around, Kate took Martha by surprise by leaning forward and hugging her. "Thank you." Pulling back, she smiled. "How about if I make you some 'Happy Mother's Day' tea?"

"My dear Katherine, I'm not the pregnant one. You drink the tea; I'll have a glass of wine."


	7. Sick Day

**Title: **Sick Day

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Beckett is not feeling well... Fortunately, Joanna has just the cure! A Joanna Castle story.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** None.

**A/N: **earnmysong asked for a sick!Kate and Joanna story awhile ago, and I finally managed to write one that I didn't loathe! So, here it is :D

* * *

Kate woke up feeling like she'd just been through an incredibly intense work-out that she'd forgot to warm-up for. Every single muscle in her body ached. She also had sweat clinging to her, making her shiver and wrap the comforter more firmly around herself.

She was seriously considering not even acknowledging that the sun had come out, when a tiny hand began to shake her shoulder insistently.

"Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?"

Part of her brain concluded that her and Rick's beautiful daughter, who had been running a fever of 101.2 not 9 hours ago, was feeling much better. The rest of her brain just groaned.

"Baby, please stop shaking Mommy..." Immediately the hand stopped its push-pull motion. Peaking out from beneath the blanket, she took in Jo's concerned face. "What's wrong?"

"You don't look good, Mommy..."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Kate didn't know if she was more pleased by the automatic response, or by the fact that sarcasm was still lost on her.

"Daddy!" Joanna called at the top of her little lungs, which may have been impressive if she hadn't done it so close to Kate's ear. Her eardrums were saved from a repeat call by the appearance of her husband.

"I was summoned?" Rick asked jokingly before taking in the sight of his wife, who looked miserable, and his daughter, who looked worried. "You look awful."

"With you two around, I'll never want for an ego boost."

Joanna glanced from her mom to her dad, not really sure if that was a compliment or not. "Daddy, Mommy needs the magic tea!"

"She does, huh?" His question was barely out before Joanna started nodding rapidly. "Hmm... I guess I'll have to make her some then... though I used up a lot of magic yesterday. I may need some help..."

"I can help!"

Kate felt a smile tug the corner of her mouth as Joanna practically leapt into her father's arms. She would never get over seeing Rick in 'dad mode'.

Leaning over, Rick brushed a kiss across Kate's forehead. She suspected he was sneakily checking her temperature as much as being affectionate. "Do you want anything else?"

"No, I'm okay."

She waited until they'd left before once again curling up under the covers. She'd almost fallen back to sleep when a loud crash resounded through the loft.

"Oops!"

"We're okay!"

Groaning, Kate covered her head with a pillow. She needed to get better _very_ soon.


	8. Grams' Influence

For earnmysong :)

**

* * *

**

"We are never letting my mother babysit again," Castle complained, lowering his voice just enough that Joanna couldn't hear him, but loud enough so that Kate still could.

His wife, however, was providing absolutely no back-up, too busy smiling at their daughter's enthralled expression. "I really think you're overreacting."

"I'm not. She showed her one of _those_ movies."

"Okay, there's no need to make it sound like Martha showed her porn."

"I think I would have been happier if she had."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

"Yeah, me too." They both stood quietly for a moment, before he just couldn't take it anymore. "I don't think you understand what this means! She's - "

"Most girls go through this phase, Rick. You can't tell me that Alexis never - "

"I introduced Alexis to the classics: _Star Wars_, _Duck Soup_, _Goldfinger_."

Raising an eyebrow, Kate shook her head in disbelief. "You did not show Alexis _Goldfinger_ when she was little!"

"Okay, maybe I was watching it and she woke up from her nap early, but it's still better than that!"

Joanna looked up at her father's raised voice, and both parents could see the beginnings of a pout. Walking over to her, Beckett lifted her little girl into her arms. "Aw, baby, Daddy's just being grumpy. Look... another song is coming up."

Castle watched with a mixture of horror and love as his wife and daughter sang along with Barbara Streisand, dancing together around the room.

_"I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer _

_Don't bring around the cloud to rain on my parade"_


	9. Tradition

**Title:** Tradition

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett (implied)

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Joanna has the chicken-pox and needs a distraction. A Joanna Castle story.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** One Life to Lose

**A/N:** This popped into my head after watching _One Life to Lose_.

**REPOST:** Something glitchy happened and the a/n I had at the bottom originally got moved above the last paragraph. If anyone sees any more random notes let me know; they probably aren't intentional :P

_

* * *

_

Joanna reached up with her mittened-hands and attempted to scratch her face. From her frustrated pout, Kate could tell it was having little to no affect.

"Sweetie, stop scratching."

Looking up at her with puppy-dog eyes staring out of a face covered with chicken-pox spots, Jo looked absolutely miserable.

"But Mommy... it itches so bad!"

"I know, but if you scratch you're going to scar your pretty little face." Her daughter looked on the verge of tears. "I think you need a change of scenery." She tugged Jo's arm, helping her out of bed, and gathered up her comforter and the quilt Alexis had given her as a baby. When they made it downstairs, she guided Jo over to the sofa.

Kate sat down on one end and without question Jo lay across the other half, her head settled in Kate's lap. Spreading the blankets over Jo, she waited for the little girl to settle before reaching for the remote that was on a nearby table.

"Mommy, who's that?" Jo asked not long into the show.

"That's Angela Cannon. She's the heart and soul of _Temptation Lane_."

"She doesn't seem very nice."

"You're a very smart girl, Jo."


	10. Turtle Talk

**Title:** Turtle Talk

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Joanna visits the happiest place on earth. A Joanna Castle story.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it. Disney and Pixar own Turtle Talk.

**Spoilers:** None.

**A/N:** This is all my little cousin's fault!

* * *

"Come on, Daddy, we're going to miss Crush!" Jo exclaimed excitedly, pulling on her father's hand while her mother followed the pair, trying not to laugh outright.

"Jo, Daddy's going to need that arm," was Kate's only effort to calm their daughter. They had arrived at Disney World two days ago, and the the 5-year-old had been an irrepressible bundle of energy ever since they'd gotten off the plane. Though this did mean she passed out at bedtime almost immediately, it did present a bit of a challenge for her parents to keep up with her until then.

Barely acknowledging her mom, Jo headed towards the archway with the sign proclaiming 'Turtle Talk' over it. An employee smiled brightly, in pure Disney fashion, and informed them that they were just in time for the next show and to head on in. As soon as they were inside, Jo dropped Rick's hand and ran up to join the other kids on the floor in front of the 'tank'.

"How you holding up there, writer man?" Kate teased her husband as they took a seat.

"I do not remember Alexis ever having this much energy."

"Alexis still bounces around with Jo. You're just getting old."

"Watch it, Mrs. Castle. You fell asleep before I did last night."

"That was completely your fault."

He opened his mouth to respond, but stopped short when an employee with a microphone stepped to the front and began his spiel. "... And if at any point you need to leave the theater, just head to the back doors marked 'exit'. Now, in order for our guest of honor to appear we need to say a loud 'Hey, Crush.' Can everyone do that for me?"

_"Hey, Crush!"_ all of the children and most of the adults yelled.

Immediately a green sea turtle showed up, calling, "Righteous, righteous!" much to the children's glee, and all of the adults settled back to enjoy one of the few times during the day they would not be standing in a long line in the summer sun.

Kate should have known as soon as Jo's hand shot up during the Q&A session to be slightly worried, but after the other kids around her had asked questions like "Crush, what's your favorite color?" and "Crush, what are the names of your kids?" she didn't really think there would be a problem.

"Crush," Jo started happily, "do you have turtles who slay dragons like my mommy does?"

Next to her, Rick was shaking with barely contained laughter. Carefully, so that no kids would see her, she punched him in the arm. "You can't just read her Dr. Seuss like every other parent?"

"Where's the fun in that?"


	11. Saved Seats

**Title:** Saved Seats

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Alexis attends Joanna's dance recital. A Joanna Castle story.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** None.

**A/N:** I'm not really sure about this one, but I finally got Alexis into one of these stories so I had to post it lol

* * *

"Alexis!" Standing in the middle of the busy auditorium, her dad waved her over to the seats that he'd staked out. She wondered how early he'd shown up to get 'the perfect seats'. As soon as she was close enough, he pulled her into his arms and gave her one of the tight hugs she'd missed while at Brown. When she decided to go there to get her Masters, she'd thought she'd be able to make it home more often, but her coursework had been so heavy that she may as well still have been in California. "I'm so glad you could make it."

Pulling back, but not quite ready to let go yet, Alexis smiled. "There was no way I was going to miss Jo's first recital!" She glanced around. There were three extra saved seats, but none of their occupants were anywhere to be seen. "Where is everyone?"

"Jim is in the lobby getting snacks, your grandmother is helping with costumes to make sure none of the children 'mess up the hours of labor she put into them, and Kate should be on her way soon."

"She hasn't left yet?"

"There was a break in the case we've been working on. I came ahead, but she needed to tie up some loose ends before she could leave."

"It couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Alexis knew her voice sounded a little harsh, but it just sounded so... Not Kate. She took a calming breath and told herself to stop projecting. It didn't mean anything. "Sorry."

Her dad gave her a strange look, but shrugged it off. They took their seats and her dad immediately started checking the video camera he'd brought, making sure the battery life was strong enough and that it was zoomed to approximately the right field of vision.

The camera did very little to stop her flashbacks.

##

_Alexis smoothed out her new dress that her dad had bought her just for this performance. She was so nervous. Her violin teacher had told her there was nothing to worry about, that she would play her piece beautifully, but she couldn't make her hands stop sweating._

_"Dad, when's Mom going to get here?" She knew she'd asked too many times, but they'd been waiting for an hour and they had to go soon or they'd be late._

_"I'll try calling again, sweetie." She brushed the back of her dress flat and sat down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder and waited while he called. "Meredith! Finally. Why haven't you been answering your phone? Where are you? LA!" Alexis felt her father tense beside her before standing and walking to his study. "I'll be right back, honey."_

_Alexis waited until the door was closed to creep closer. She knew she wasn't supposed to eavesdrop, but..._

_"I reminded you about today for three weeks, Meredith, how could you have forgotten? I bought you a ticket! No, I don't care whose dead wife you're playing on what show. You promised her. What am I supposed to - No, you have to explain to - Meredith, so help me, if you hang up I'm - "_

_Her dad was quiet for a really long time. Opening the door, Alexis peeked inside and saw him slumped against his desk._

_"Mom's not coming?"_

_He looked at her then and she could tell the smile he gave her was forced. "Hey, Pumpkin! Your mom's really sorry, but she ended up having to work tonight. I'm going to record the whole thing though, so she'll still see you perform. Okay?"_

_To this day Alexis seriously doubted that her mom had watched any of the performance or special events her dad had recorded and sent copies of. She'd certainly never commented on any of them._

##

"I don't see her," Alexis commented as she looked around for her little sister. The lobby was filled with families hugging small costumed children and telling them how amazing they were. "Dad, do you -"

"Rick!" In tandem, Alexis, Rick, Martha, and Jim all turned at the sound of Kate's voice. She had one arm in the air, indicating where she was in the crowd of people, and the other was slung around the girl of the hour, who was beaming with pride in her white tutu.

"Daddy, did you see me? Did you see me dance?" Joanna asked, excitement nearly jumping out of every word.

Lifting his youngest into his arms, he spun her around until she squealed before pulling her close and kissing her loudly on the cheek. "Of course I did, my tiny dancer! I think we're going to need to get you an agent soon."

Joanna rolled her eyes at him, something he'd accused Kate of teaching her while she was still in the womb. "Daddy..."

Setting her down, he gave the grandparents a chance to dote on her, while turning to his wife and pulling her into a hug. "We saved a seat for you; what happened?"

"I was heading in and saw our prima ballerina trying to make a run for it."

"Mother told me she'd calmed down."

"Unfortunately, I think the acting gene is a little too active in our baby girl."

"I'm not sure if Mother is going to be proud or upset that she got played."

"Probably a little of both." Turning her head, Kate spotted Alexis standing just off to the side. Letting go of Rick, she walked over and hugged her step-daughter hello. "Hey, Lex."

Alexis squeezed her eyes shut and soaked in the maternal embrace. "Kate... I am so glad Dad married you."

The older woman laughed. "You've been watching the Hallmark channel again, haven't you?"

"ABC Family."

"Ah, same amount of cheese, just aged less."

"Exactly."

A small hand tugged on their sides. "Alexis, Mommy and Daddy said we could go get ice cream. Are you coming?"

"I never say no to ice cream!"

Alexis let Joanna tug her out of the lobby and into the night air, their parents and grandparents following close behind.


End file.
